CPAP and weight loss
Question:
Those charts were written for a chicken boned lunkhead. If you want a really good estimate of how you are get an accurate bodyfat measurement (not a "pinch" test). pb
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->bob…@aol.com (Bob G EV) wrote: >>I have been on CPAP for the last 4 years at 13 cm of pressure. In April I >>started the Atkin’s diet. started at 260 lbs , now at 215, about 15% of my >>body weight. Two weeks ago I quit CPAP. My wife is awake a lot at night >>with our 6 week old baby, she says I still snore a bit , but I am not >>having any apnea events. My first sleep test 4 years ago i had 350 apnea’s >>per night. >>I hope this info helps. >>Bob Gruenwald >Bob, >I was wondering about the Akins diet. Since you go into ketosis > ( sorry I can’t spell it)…. did you have any problems with >re-breathing that discharge on the CPAP?
I had no problems with my CPAP at all. >I lost weight on that diet years ago, but got sick when on it. It may >have just been a fluk though.
What sickness did you have? email the dietman at http://www.lowcarb.org/ he can tell you if it was a result of the diet. > I have a very weird metabolism… and >had to keep tricking my body into losing weight. How? I had to be a >pound of bacon every other day. If I just ate regular, I would not >lose weight at all! This was the only diet ever could lose weight >on. If my BiPAP starts to actually work, I thought I’d try the diet >again. As soon as I’m able to concentrate and think clearly, that is. >Sandi
read all the links on the dietmans page, this may change your life forever, for the better. Good luck- no you don’t need luck, just do it. Bob Gruenwald
Response:
Wendy E. Betts wrote: > I’m trying to lose weight to cure my apnea and I’m wondering if > I’ll need to lower my air pressure as my weight drops.
<snip!> I have lost about 8% of my weight since the machine and I DO notice I seem to do well with a slightly lower setting now. I started about 13-14 and am down to about 11 now. I never had the titration thing done. Just a sleep study. Upon not getting enough air with the original setting I simply figured out how to adjust the machine myself and used some bio-feedback to get it to a level that seemed to make sense for me. Probably was lucky. I have tried all sorts of settings and can just tell when I am comming up short of breath and when I seem to not be able to exhale well enough. I put it on the setting that seems to provide the best balance. I have also opened the O-2 ports on the gel mask to allow for enough CO-2 exhalation, per earlier posts. My doc seems to think that if I lose enough weight I might get by without the cpap. I am not so sure as I have always been a heavy snorer at any weight and have never really slept as well as I do with the cpap. According to the weight charts I (6′1") am supposed to not be over 190 pounds. That is 10 pounds over my high school weight. I am now about 250 (but was close to 275 when I got cpap). Frankly I don’t know if it is possible for me to see anything short of 200 in this lifetime and would be quite pleased with 220 or so. Who the hell are those charts written for anyhow!?!? Anyhow I think you may see the need for pressure decrease some with weight loss. Terry Carr Public Relations mich.com, Inc. b…@mich.com
Response:
>I’m trying to lose weight to cure my apnea and I’m wondering if >I’ll need to lower my air pressure as my weight drops. Is there a way to >tell if your pressure is higher than you need, without another sleep >study? I’m not due for another until next February. I’ve lost around >5% of my weight so far
Hi Wendy Congratulations on your weight loss, keep up the good work. I have been on CPAP for the last 4 years at 13 cm of pressure. In April I started the Atkin’s diet. started at 260 lbs , now at 215, about 15% of my body weight. Two weeks ago I quit CPAP. My wife is awake a lot at night with our 6 week old baby, she says I still snore a bit , but I am not having any apnea events. My first sleep test 4 years ago i had 350 apnea’s per night. I hope this info helps. Bob Gruenwald bob…@aol.com
Response:
bob…@aol.com (Bob G EV) wrote: >I have been on CPAP for the last 4 years at 13 cm of pressure. In April I >started the Atkin’s diet. started at 260 lbs , now at 215, about 15% of my >body weight. Two weeks ago I quit CPAP. My wife is awake a lot at night >with our 6 week old baby, she says I still snore a bit , but I am not >having any apnea events. My first sleep test 4 years ago i had 350 apnea’s >per night. >I hope this info helps. >Bob Gruenwald
Bob, I was wondering about the Akins diet. Since you go into ketosis ( sorry I can’t spell it)…. did you have any problems with re-breathing that discharge on the CPAP? I lost weight on that diet years ago, but got sick when on it. It may have just been a fluk though. I have a very weird metabolism… and had to keep tricking my body into losing weight. How? I had to be a pound of bacon every other day. If I just ate regular, I would not lose weight at all! This was the only diet ever could lose weight on. If my BiPAP starts to actually work, I thought I’d try the diet again. As soon as I’m able to concentrate and think clearly, that is. Sandi
Response:
Hi, Wendy, In article <5v1o99$…@news.scruz.net>, w…@armory.com (Wendy E. Betts) writes: > I’ve lost around >5% of my weight so far, and my nasal pillows have gotten increasingly >uncomfortable.
Wow, congratulations! That’s great! It’s true that as your weight goes down your CPAP pressure probably will be able to go down, too. Why not call your sleep center and see whether they want you to come in sooner — or if they can give you a rule of they can give you a rule of thumb about resetting pressure with weight loss. Keep up the good work! Sally in Seattle (JSo…@aol.com) Coauthor, with Dr. Ralph Pascualy, of Snoring and Sleep Apnea: Personal and Family Guide to Diagnosis and Treatment, published in 1996 by Demos Vermande, NY. Available through bookstores, ISBN # 0-939957-82-5.
Response:
I’m trying to lose weight to cure my apnea and I’m wondering if I’ll need to lower my air pressure as my weight drops. Is there a way to tell if your pressure is higher than you need, without another sleep study? I’m not due for another until next February. I’ve lost around 5% of my weight so far, and my nasal pillows have gotten increasingly uncomfortable. — Wendy E. Betts, Editor, "Notes from the Windowsill." Reply to web at armory dot com (or at deepthought dot armory dot com) "Fairy tales are beautiful, but very confusing." — Sylvia Waugh
Response:
Yeah Weight Watchers is great – if you stick to the point system for your weight, you WILL lose weight. CFster
Response:
Richard – Great news. Hope you’ll stick around and contribute to the subject of your post. One of my first posts two years ago suggested that I had OSA from being overweight ONLY. This seemed to be considered absurd at the time. Less so lately. As you have likely noted, I have become a very big proponent of (1) being aware of how you feel the day after and (2) if you feel lousy, using a finger oximeter to determine if low blood oxy sat levels may be the reason. I’m getting close to doing some experimenting myself. I’ve lost 20 pounds and seem to be keeping my lips closed. If circumstances result in my not getting enough sleep, I nap (in a recliner, not in bed) without and recognizable OSA effects. So I’m about to go back to my nasal mask and see how things go. If I continue to feel good, I’ll probably give it a try without cpap and see how I feel. Then to confirm, I will use an oximeter. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Richard Spears wrote: > I have lurked here off and on for the past 18 months. > I rarely have anything to say, so I tend to keep quiet. > I started CPAP in May of 2001, I have always been > grateful > for the encouragement I got here just by reading some > of the messages. > In May of this year, my weight finally reached 260, > and I decided to do something about it. Lose it or die. > I can’t blame CPAP for the weight gain. After > retirement, > I ate too much all the time. I joined Weight Watchers > online (no meetings) and followed the program. > It is simply a good way to apply the only sensible > weight > loss program: ELMM, which is "Eat Less; Move More." > No magic, no clever stories about tricking your > metabolism, just portion, caloric, fat and fiber > control. > I lost 55 pounds and have another 15 to go. It’s not a > diet; it’s a lifestyle. > You write down and add up everything you eat, > and you plan your intake for each day. > The online program helps you learn the system > and practice it, but some men may object to the > online bulletin boards as inane and filled with a lot > of whining, as well as being downright anti-male. > It’s definitely marketed toward women but it > works for both sexes. Of course, all sorts of > weight-loss > programs will work. Weight loss > can work if you have a plan and stick to it, > and weight loss may be a valuable approach to > treating apnea for some or many sufferers. > At about the minus 30-pound point, I started having > problems with the CPAP machine. Air would blow > by the front of my upper gums and exit my mouth, > making noise that would wake me up. The air pressure, > (14) was inflating me. At the time, I had been > traveling > in the mountains and thought that the altitude > adjustment > on the machine was messed up. Soon, I began having > sleep-deprivation symtoms and stopped using CPAP > in order to get some sleep, and began working my way > through my (new) HMO snarl to get to a sleep doctor. > I had a sleep study last night that showed that I CAN > remain sleeping on my side ALL NIGHT (my normal, > preferred position) > without apnea events, and likely will be taken off CPAP > therapy. > Since I have had a few weeks with little or no use > of the mask, I find it strange to say that I will miss > it. > I like the excess of air coming into my lungs and > the pressure helps greatly to "shrink swollen sinus > membranes" > better than any drug on the market. I will be happy > not to have to travel with it though. > I hope this is useful, and that it gives weight > losers some encouragement. > Sleep tight, > Richard A.
– Sleep good! Norm To email replace nospam with rr
Response:
> I had a sleep study last night that showed that I CAN > remain sleeping on my side ALL NIGHT (my normal, > preferred position) > without apnea events, and likely will be taken off CPAP > therapy. > Since I have had a few weeks with little or no use > of the mask, I find it strange to say that I will miss > it.
Well done on the weight loss – it sure isn’t easy, you’ve done well 
I’m glad it’s helped with the apnea too!……but…… i’d be cautious…..i had a sleep study that showed now apnea….but i defiantely still have it…. i wonder if it would be at all possible for you to rent an autopap for a week or month to see if you still need the CPAP…but probably at a lower pressure. — Beth in Australia =================== FAQ for alt.support.sleep-disorder can be found here http://www.anchorweb.com.au/sleepdisorders this site is a work in progress – feel free to submit info/articles
Response:
I have lurked here off and on for the past 18 months. I rarely have anything to say, so I tend to keep quiet. I started CPAP in May of 2001, I have always been grateful for the encouragement I got here just by reading some of the messages. In May of this year, my weight finally reached 260, and I decided to do something about it. Lose it or die. I can’t blame CPAP for the weight gain. After retirement, I ate too much all the time. I joined Weight Watchers online (no meetings) and followed the program. It is simply a good way to apply the only sensible weight loss program: ELMM, which is "Eat Less; Move More." No magic, no clever stories about tricking your metabolism, just portion, caloric, fat and fiber control. I lost 55 pounds and have another 15 to go. It’s not a diet; it’s a lifestyle. You write down and add up everything you eat, and you plan your intake for each day. The online program helps you learn the system and practice it, but some men may object to the online bulletin boards as inane and filled with a lot of whining, as well as being downright anti-male. It’s definitely marketed toward women but it works for both sexes. Of course, all sorts of weight-loss programs will work. Weight loss can work if you have a plan and stick to it, and weight loss may be a valuable approach to treating apnea for some or many sufferers. At about the minus 30-pound point, I started having problems with the CPAP machine. Air would blow by the front of my upper gums and exit my mouth, making noise that would wake me up. The air pressure, (14) was inflating me. At the time, I had been traveling in the mountains and thought that the altitude adjustment on the machine was messed up. Soon, I began having sleep-deprivation symtoms and stopped using CPAP in order to get some sleep, and began working my way through my (new) HMO snarl to get to a sleep doctor. I had a sleep study last night that showed that I CAN remain sleeping on my side ALL NIGHT (my normal, preferred position) without apnea events, and likely will be taken off CPAP therapy. Since I have had a few weeks with little or no use of the mask, I find it strange to say that I will miss it. I like the excess of air coming into my lungs and the pressure helps greatly to "shrink swollen sinus membranes" better than any drug on the market. I will be happy not to have to travel with it though. I hope this is useful, and that it gives weight losers some encouragement. Sleep tight, Richard A.
